Rotary pump



A g- 1952 G. A. CARLSON ROTARY PUMP Filed April 15, 1948 v INVEA/TOR. GEORGE A. CARLSON BY v @M ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 12, 1952 g UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROTARY PUMP- George Carlson, Portland, Oreg. Application April 15, 1948, Serial No. 21,230

2 Claims.

This invention relates to airotary pump that utilizes the forces commonly employed in centrifugal pumps for delivering water against a hydrostatic head and provides an apparatus for producing the :aforementioned action, including structure that coincidently applies a positive pressure to Water that hasstarted through the pump casing; such a combination being very valuable in relatively small irrigation projects, where the pump location is fixed by the Water supply and the head, against which the pump must deliver, varies widely according to the distance from sliding friction enters into the mode of operation.

Th objects ar accomplished by the structure shown in the accompanyin drawings, the invention residing wholly in a set of radially interrupted segments carried by the impeller and a cooperating set of fixed radially interrupted segments, that are integral with a part of the pump casing, preferably the outside or cover plate.

Fig. 1 of the drawings is a vertical, partly sectioned view of the structure shown in Fig. 2, taken on the line ll of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the structure shown in Fig. 1 with a part of the cover plate broken away to show the placement and cooperative relationship of the rotary and fixed segments;

Fig. 3 is a face view of the impeller showing the end of the shaft upon which it is rotatively mounted and the position of the interrupted segments; and

Fig. 4 is a face View of the inside of th cover plate showing, in plan, the segments that are in fixed position on th inside of the said cover plate.

Describing the figures of the drawing, chosen to illustrate the principle and mode of my invention, numeral l is a pump casing having the external appearance of the conventional centrifugal pump, with a base I I, a rotary pump shaft 2, in a suitable bearing, and a set collar 4, to hold the impeller 5, in proper place within the casing I. As shown in the drawings, the impeller 5, is basically a disc portion 55, with a plurality of radially interrupted segments 56 which are spaced apart by annular paths 51. Thesegmentsare substantially quadrangular in cross section, as shown in Fig. l. A cover plate 1, provided with a suction opening I2, is likewise formed with radially interrupted segments 7'! which are spaced apart equally by annular pathways 16, so that when suitably positioned to cover the casing l, as shown in Fig. l, the respective segments of the cover plate will be correctly positioned within the annular pathways 51 of the impeller, whilethe segments 5 6 of the impeller 5, will likewise occupy and very nearly fill the annular pathways 16, of the cover plate 1. The respective parts will be machined so that the segments run very closely within the mating pathwayswithout actual rubbing contact when the impeller is revolved by means of the shaft 2.

i In Fig. 2, the face of the impeller shows the segments 55 in section, and integral with the inside face of the impeller 5 and. it is believed that these segments can be clearly distinguished from the other segments 11, that interengage with them, the segments 11 being stationary and integral with the inside face of the cover plate 1, the segments 11 also being shown in section in this figure. A series of what may be called radially interrupted pump segments, are formed on the face of the impeller 5, and these segments have a curved impeller face. The four pump segments being identified by th numeral 40 in Fig. 3. All of the other segments will be as nearly identical as they can be conveniently made. Six radially disposed groups of segments are shown on the face of the impeller, see Fig. 3; and the matching cover plate has seven radially disposed groups, see Fig. 4. The spacing of the segments and the number of the annular pathways may be varied widely, as can the number of actual segments. The best results, however, have been obtained with the arrangement shown.

The mode of operation will now be explained. Water enters through the suction opening l2; but, lik other centrifugal pumps, if the lift is more than a few inches, the pump will start more readily if primed.

It is to be noted that in both the fixed cover plate 1 and the impeller 5, that the segments 11 on the fixed cover plate I, Fig. 1, are interrupted after a definite pattern, resulting in the provision of backwardly curved generally radial waterways past the ends of the segments towards the perimeter 8A and that the segments 56 on the impeller 5 are longer with correspondingly smaller spaces between the segments; this is be cause the Waterways at one end of a fixed segment 11 must be closed by a movable segment 58 on the impeller before the latter opens the water space behind it. This is shown in Fig. 2 by numerals 33 indicating an impeller segment and numeral 55-5, indicating a fixed segment.

The direction of rotation of the impeller 5, Fig. 2, isanti-clockwise and it will be assumed to be full of water. The volute water passage 8A and the outlet 8, are assumed likewise to be full and the impeller arrested in motion for examination. Since at the instant of arrest, every inlet between the spaced segments of the impeller was blocked by a segment on the cover plate, no water could enter, which provides a suction air chamber, which being old is not shown; but flow through the pump is not all blocked. The space S, between impeller segments A and B, is closed off at the end nearest the suction by the stationary segment 33, of the cover plate I, but is open to the volute water passage 8A and the discharge 8 and'will be reduced in volume to about half of that shown when the segment 55-5 moves anti-clockwise and finally shuts off the bottom of the open end of the water passageway that has been suffering reduction in volume. This is the way the positive displacement feature works. By putting a different number of segments on the face of cover plate 7 than are on the face of the impeller 5, not all of the segments will act simultaneously. They can be so spaced that the action is sequential. Attention is here called to an important feature of the pump; as the segment 55-5 moves to close off the particular water chamber, described supra, it merely entraps a small quantity of water than fill the clearance space, but no hydraulic lock is possible.

In the operation of the pump, an even flow of water or liquid is maintained through the spaced segments from the center to the perimeter; since the pathways through which the Water passes are practically the same size from the center to the perimeter. It will be noted that the pump is of greater width near the center than at or near the perimeter which serves to make the pathways of the same capacity throughout, the theory being that by alternately opening and closing the pathways between the segments an alternate suction and discharge will be provided causing the water to flow directly from the center to the perimeter and increasing the pressure of the water through the discharge 8 resulting in a, more positive action of the water.

It seems probable that highly skilled engineering design, coupled with experimental tests, can result in a better proportioned pump than that shown, but the principle will be the same and is intended to be covered within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a rotary pump having a casing, an impeller therein, a cover plate for the casing immediately adjacent the impeller as to its inside face, radially interrupted segments formed on the face of the impeller, other radially interrupted segments on the face of the cover plate, said segments being of the same radial extent character-. ized by alternating substantially rectangular shaped segments in the plane perpendicular to the axis of the pump, annular pathways on the impeller receiving the cover segments, annular pathways on the cover receiving the impeller segments, and the said pathways being of the full depth of the said segments in each case, the spacing of the said segments on the impeller and the cover plate being such that the spaces between, the segments that bound waterways are closed first at the inside end of said waterways and closed progressively, as the impeller revolves, opening again in reverse order.

2. In a'rotary pump as set forth in claim 1 wherein the segments on said cover plate are of circumferentially greater extent than those on said impeller with correspondingly shorter circumferential spaces therebetween.

GEORGE A. 'CARLSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 140,597 Shaw July 8, 1873 948,213 De Ferranti Feb. 1, 1910 1,158,978 Buchi Nov. 2, 1915 

